Republic of the Philippines

Commission on Higher Education

POLANGUI COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Alnay, Polangui, Albay
______________________________________________________________________
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CHILD AND ADOLESCENT LEARNERS

AND LEARNING PRINCIPLES

SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT TASK

Submitted by:

CHRISTY L. GASTILO
CMT Student

Submitted to:

JOSELYN N. SAMPAL, PhD.

Professor
 Summative Assessment Tasks

Perform the following:

1. Present research findings on recent studies on child development and their
implication to the teaching learning process, teacher learner centered
relationship and child care.

CHILD DEVELOPMENT AND EARLY LEARNING: A FOUNDATION FOR

PROFESSIONAL KNOWLEDGE AND COMPETENCIES
According to the research of National Academies: Sciences, Engineering and
Medicine entitled Child Development and Early Learning: A Foundation for
Professional Knowledge and Competencies, children are already learning at birth,
and they develop and learn at a rapid pace in their early years. This provides a critical
foundation for lifelong progress, and the adults who provide for the care and education
of children from birth through age 8 bear a great responsibility for their health,
development, and learning. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age
8, a 2015 report from the Institute of Medicine and National Research Council,
explores the implications of the science of child development for the professionals who
work with these children.
Young children thrive when they have secure, positive relationships with adults
who are knowledgeable about how to support their development and learning. The
science of child development and early learning makes clear the importance and
complexity of working with young children from infancy through the early elementary
years.
Research during the past decade has revealed much about how children learn
and develop. Studies have shown that early childhood is a time when developmental
changes are happening that can have profound and lasting consequences for a child’s
future. While people have long debated whether “nature” or “nurture” plays the stronger
role in child development, recent studies reveal the importance of how the two influence
each other as a child develops: what a child experiences and is exposed to interacts
with his or her underlying biological makeup.
Research has also shown that much more is going on cognitively, socially, and
emotionally in young children – including infants – than scientists or care and education
professionals previously knew. Even in their earliest years, children are starting to learn
about their world in sophisticated ways that are not always reflected in their outward
behavior. Learning and development for young children is both rapid and cumulative,
continuously laying a foundation for later learning.
These and related insights emerging from research have strong implications for
settings where young children are cared for and educated. This booklet provides an
overview of this research and its implications for what educators and other adults who
work with children need to know and be able to do in order to best support children’s
healthy development.

The Biology of Early Child Development

Research in developmental biology and neuroscience offers four broad insights

about the role of the developing brain and other biological systems in early childhood
development:

The developmental window (rapidity of brain development during early

childhood).
The brain develops through a dynamic interaction between underlying biological
processes and exposures and experiences in the environment. This process begins at
conception and continues throughout life. During a child’s early years, the brain
develops in rapid and fundamental ways, and connections among neurons are
reinforced. Because of this, early childhood is a window of both great risk of
vulnerabilityto disruption and great potential for the impact of positive developmental
influences.

The interplay of genes and environment.

In many or even most cases, the causes of healthy, normal development – as well as
disease, disorders, and developmental problems – are best viewed as an interplay
between genes and environment. While a child’s genetic makeup has an influence on
how strongly he or she is affected by some environmental factors or experiences,
emerging research also shows that influences in the environment can shape whether
genes are turned off or on. Neither environment nor biology alone is destiny.

The impact of stress on development.

There is now strong evidence that early psychological and social adversities –
beginning even during fetal development – can have important short- and long-term
effects on the brain’s development and the way the brain and body handle stress. In
addition to the brain, multiple systems are involved in the response to stress and can be
affected by chronic adversity, including the immune system and the endocrine system.
While enriching experiences in the early years will support healthy brain development,
disturbances or deficiencies before birth or in early childhood can interrupt or alter the
growing brain, resulting in changes that range from subtle incapacities to generalized
developmental disabilities. Examples of serious stressors faced by many children
include abuse or neglect, the death of a parent, food insufficiency, housing instability, a
parent living with mental illness, or exposure to conflict or violence in the home or
neighborhood. Although children at any socioeconomic level can experience stressors,
children in marginalized populations or who experience chronic economic adversity face
a disproportionate risk of experiencing a confluence of multiple sources of chronic
stress.

Individual differences in sensitivity to environments.

 There are substantial individual differences in how susceptible children are to
influences in their environment. Some individuals seem more sensitive to both positive
and negative influences; others survive challenging environments and seem to thrive
with little detrimental effect. Together, these four broad insights have reshaped
understanding of the formative experiences of children in their families, communities,
health care settings, childcare and preschool centers, and schools. These insights also
have implications for those who educate and care for young children – and they make
clear
the complexity and importance of this role.

A STUDY ON CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT IN EARLY STAGE

Early Childhood Development refers to the physical, cognitive, linguistic, and

socio-emotional development of a child from the prenatal stage up to age eight. This
development happens in a variety of settings (homes, schools, health facilities,
community-based centers); and involves a wide range of activities from child care to
nutrition to parent education. Providers of services can include public, private, and non-
governmental agencies. Early Childhood Development encompasses a number of
distinct sub-stages, each of which presents particular needs Pregnancy and pre-natal:
prenatal care, attended births, registration, postnatal care 0 to 3 parent education, early
stimulation and nutrition interventions, home-based care, crèches 3 to 6 parent
education, preschool 6 to 8 transition to formal education, improved early primary
school From a development point of view, children who come from the most vulnerable
and disadvantaged backgrounds need good-quality services and care the most,
including children with special needs for early childhood development. To ensure a
nation’s children develop well, adequate investment in early childhood development is
essential. However, a study by the Child and Family Policy Center (CFPC) shows that
although brain growth and general child development is most important during the initial
stages of life up to three to five years of age, the amount of public spending for that
period in 12 states of the United States was vastly inferior to investment in later
years.35 These results mirror those in many other nations where far greater emphasis
is placed on investing in formal education from ages five or six forward. It is instructive
to compare national investments in children from zero to five years with funding for
children from six to 14 or up to 18 years.

The future of any society depends on its ability to foster the health and well-being
of the next generation. Stated simply, today’s children will become tomorrow’s citizens,
workers, and parents. When we invest wisely in children and families, the next
generation will pay that backthrough a lifetime of productivity and responsible
citizenship. When we fail to provide children with what they need to build a strong
foundation for healthy and productive lives, we put our future prosperity and security at
risk. Two recent developments have stimulated growing public discussion about the
right balance between individual and shared responsibility for that strong foundation.
The first is the explosion of research in neurobiology that clarifies the extent to which
the interaction between genetics and early experience literally shapes brain
architecture. The second is the increasingly recognized need for a highly skilled
workforce and healthy adult population to confront the growing challenges of global
economic competition and the rising costs of Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid
for the aging baby boomers. In an effort to identify those aspects of development that
are accepted broadly by the scientific community, the National Scientific Council, based
at the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, brought together several of
the nation’s leading neuroscientists, developmental psychologists, Pediatricians and
economists. This document presents their critical review of the existing literatures in
their fields and a consensus about what we now know about development in the early
childhood years. The objective of the Council is to move beyond the public’s fascination
with “the latest study” and focus on the cumulative knowledge of decades of research
that has been subjected to rigorous and continuous peer review. The goal of this
document is to help the public and its policy makers understand the core principles of
that body of work that are now sufficiently accepted across the scientific community to
warrant public action. It is our hope and belief that better public understanding of the
rapidly growing science of early childhood and early brain development can provide a
powerful impetus for the design and implementation of policies and programs that could
make a significant difference in the lives of all children. Without that understanding,
investments that could generate significant returns for all of society stand the risk of
being rejected or undermined. Thus, there is a compelling need for scientists to share
with the public and its representatives an objective basis for choosing wisely among
competing demands on limited resources. This paper is designed to provide a
framework within which this complex challenge can be addressed most effectively. Its
goal is to promote an understanding of the basic science of early childhood
development, including its underlying neurobiology, to inform both public and private
sector investment in young children and their families. To this end, the paper presents a
set of cores developmental concepts that have emerged from decades of rigorous
research in neurobiology, developmental psychology, and the economics of human
capital formation, and considers their implications for a range of issues in policy and
practice.

Education in early childhood development:

The terminology of Pedagogy
Different approaches to early childhood practice are informed by different
educational philosophies, values and theories about how young children learn and
develop. Consequently, early childhood practice is informed by a variety of approaches
to curriculum. It is not surprising then to learn that there are a variety of approaches to
pedagogical or teaching practice as well. Differences in pedagogical practice mainly
refer to the degree of influence that adults should have over the early childhood
curriculum. Although most early childhood settings offer a play based curriculum, this
does not mean that there is pedagogical uniformity in the balance of involvement
between children and educators.

What is Pedagogy?
 Pedagogy refers to that set of instructional techniques and strategies which
enable learning to
take place and provide opportunities for the acquisition of knowledge, skills, attitudes
and
dispositions within a particular social and material context‟. In other words, Pedagogy
(or teaching) is the interactive process that takes place between the educator and the
child to enable learning to take place. Pedagogy is distinct from and complementary to
curriculum. In other words, curriculum describes the ‘what’, that is, the learning
opportunities on offer and pedagogy describes the ‘how’, that is, how the educator can
assist the child to learn. The pedagogical interactions between the educator and the
child
will be greatly influenced by the early childhood curriculum model in place within the
early
childhood service.

Pedagogical practice can be defined through three main types:

- Structured Approach
- Open Framework Approach
- Child-led Approach

All children deserve excellent teaching. Teaching in early childhood is a highly

skilled process where there is no single correct way to respond to children in order to
optimize learning. It is the teaching skills and practices of the early childhood educator
that make interactions educational. Skilful educators draw on a wide repertoire of
pedagogical techniques and strategies during their interactions with children. This
section will explore some of the common techniques by explaining what the technique is
and how it enhances children’s learning and development, how the technique is used
and what the technique looks like in practice.

The following eight techniques are discussed:

- Positioning
- Empowering
- Scaffolding
- Co-constructing
- Modeling
- Questioning
- Encouraging and Praising
- Problem Solving
- Document
- Well-being as a Cornerstone for Learning and Development

CHILD AND ADOLESCENT DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH

AND TEACHER EDUCATION: EVIDENCE-BASED
PEDAGOGY, POLICY, AND PRACTICE
 Psycho-Emotional Development: The Role of Emotion- and Self-regulation
in School Achievement
Increasingly, the capacity to regulate emotions has come to be recognized as a
core capacity for children and adults (Cassidy, 1994). The failure to regulate emotions
underlies much psychopathology (depression can be viewed as a failure to regulate
sadness, anxiety as a failure to regulate fear, conduct disorder as a failure to regulate
anger). Moreover, new clinical perspectives suggest that much of children’s problematic
behavior, which interferes with learning, results from failure in emotion regulation
capacities. Thinking about behavior problems as failures in emotion regulation has
implications for how teachers respond to disruptive behavior. The capacity to regulate
emotions develops, in part, through social experiences with adults. Evidence indicates
that much of emotion regulation is learned within families, yet surely teachers can play a
role as well. According to attachment theory, reported Cassidy, children of all ages
function better when they have confidence in a secure base to which they can turn for
support if needed; considerable empirical evidence supports this assertion.19, 20 When
children have the support they need, they explore more competently and are less
fearful. Research with young high-risk students provides powerful evidence that, when
teachers provide emotional support, the later functioning of these children in a variety of
domains

Cassidy’s research addressed the influence of a child’s attachment history on his

or her emotion regulation.22 Infants who experienced rejection may minimize negative
affect to avoid the risk of further rejection, while those whose mothers were unavailable
may maximize negative affect to increase the likelihood of gaining the caregiver’s
attention. Both of these patterns of emotion regulation ensure that the child will stay
close to the parent in order to be protected. In addition, an ambivalent infant’s
heightened negative emotionality signals to the mother that the infant needs her and
helps maintain a state of mind that emphasizes attachment.

A study of attachment relationships by Cassidy and colleagues23 showed that:

• Family and peer systems are linked.
• The quality of parents’ caregiving behavior initiates a process linked to the quality of
peer relationships throughout childhood and early adolescence.
• A child’s daily experience with parents affects self-image and relationships with others.
• Children with more positive relationships with peers demonstrate more positive
behaviors.
• More positive behaviors result in being better liked by peers. These findings also have
application to the teacher-student relationship. Teachers can convey to their students
their supportive availability. They should not underestimate the extent to which
they can serve as attachment figures for their students, and how powerful the teacher
student relationship can be.

Similarly, Brody reported that classroom processes contribute uniquely to

children’s adjustment through children’s development of self-regulation. These
processes can serve a protective stabilizing function when parenting processes are
compromised, and vice versa. Brody also pointed out that supportive parents who are
involved in their children’s lives, establish predictable routines, monitor their children,
and participate actively in their children’s schooling help children develop the self-
regulatory skills that enhance academic performance and motivation. In the same way,
well-organized classrooms with predictable routines and responsive teachers predict
children’s development of skills for setting goals and formulating plans to attain them.
These self-regulatory skills facilitate academic performance.
Bradley confirmed that strong evidence supports the value of exploration and the
role of questions and answers in enhancing learning. By exploring, children develop
self-regulatory abilities that lead to other types of problem solving. He enumerated
seven principles that should be provided by all caregivers, including teachers:
• Safety and Sustenance – provision of adequate nutrients, shelter, and health care to
promote physical and psychological development.
• Stimulation – provision of sensory data that engage and provide information
• Support – helping children cope with basic anxieties, fears, and feelings of emotional
insecurity
• Structure – configuring a child’s encounters with direct inputs so that “fit” is achieved
• Surveillance – monitoring the child and environmental conditions to which the child is
exposed to protect from harm
• Social integration – connecting the child to social networks and groups in which the
child
is likely to thrive.

Emotion regulation predicts academic achievement. Two studies cited by Izard

and Trent Acosta, one with preschool children and the other with middle school children,
show that children’s ability to manage their emotions predicts their academic
performance. In the study with preschoolers, behavioral regulation was a mediator in
that emotion regulation in preschool predicted behavioral regulation in kindergarten and,
in turn, behavioral regulation predicted academic achievement. Izard and Trentacosta
also evaluated the efficacy of their Emotions Course, a program based on emotion
theory and research that is implemented by teachers, to promote children’s emotional
competence. For children in the Head Start Program, the Emotions Course increased
emotion knowledge and reduced their level of behavior problems. These findings
suggest that early childhood education programs can successfully implement a
prevention program to enhance emotional competence—the awareness of and ability to
manage one’s emotions in a healthy and productive manner. An adaptation of the
Emotions Course could also prove useful in kindergarten classrooms because
kindergarten children exhibit a range of
emotional competence. Emotion knowledge understanding or labeling one’s own
emotions and accurately identifying the emotions of others also predicts academic
achievement. In a study conducted by Izard and colleagues, emotion knowledge for
students in Head Start predicted academic competence in third grade. Furthermore,
emotion knowledge mediated the relation between verbal ability and academic
competence.
 Another study which examined emotion knowledge and emotion regulation in
kindergarten as predictors of first grade academic achievement in a sample of minority
children, found that emotion knowledge predicted academic achievement, although it
did not mediate the relationship between verbal ability and academic achievement.
Emotion regulation did not directly predict academic achievement, but it had an indirect
effect on academic achievement through attention in the classroom. However, attention
in the classroom was a robust predictor of children’s academic achievement in first
grade. Thus, findings from both of these areas—emotion regulation and emotion
knowledge—suggest that teachers should be made aware of children’s emotional
competence and the role that it can play in academic performance. Variability in
children’s self-regulation skills is as important as differences in literacy skills for
predicting early school success. Teachers who spend more time doing activities that
orient and organize children’s behavior during the fall of the school year produce
classrooms with fewer disruptive transitions during the year and yield children who
spend more time doing independent child-managed activities during the spring. Here,
too, teacher preparation that aims at early classroom management knowledge and
techniques could be highly effective.

The above research suggests that teachers can, and should, address children’s
attention problems as they start elementary school. In addition, efforts to enhance
children’s emotion regulation and knowledge should begin before elementary school to
help promote school adjustment and academic achievement. These early interventions
may be especially important for at-risk children. Ramey offered seven principles derived
from an extensive review of the literature that suggest how these capacities can be
fostered. Each principle is based on evidence from multiple studies and affects the
course of development through biological changes associated with behavior:
• Encourage exploration with all the senses, in familiar and new places, with others and
alone, safely and with joy.
• Mentor in basic skills, showing the what and when, the ins and outs, of how things
and people work.
• Celebrate developmental advances for learning new skills, little and big, and for
becoming a unique individual.
• Rehearse and extend new skills, showing the child how to practice again and again, in
the same and different ways, with new people and new things.
• Protect the child from inappropriate disapproval, teasing, neglect, or punishment.
• Communicate richly and responsively with sounds, songs, gestures, and words.
• Guide and limit behavior to keep the child safe, to teach what is acceptable and what
is
not, and teach the rules of being a cooperative, responsive, and caring person.

Socio-Cultural Development: Understanding the Diverse Needs of Students

Most of what is known about development, especially during adolescence, is

based on research involving white, middle-class youth and based on the assumption
that these psychosocial tasks are universal. However, some research suggests that
adolescence is not a distinct life stage for youth from different cultural backgrounds or
low-income households. Instead, these children assume adult responsibilities at an
early age, and generational boundaries between child and parent are often blurred in
age condensed family structures. Family expectations for assuming adult roles and
responsibilities at home are often misunderstood by teachers and school administrators,
who view and interact with these students as if they were children rather than adults.
These conflicting expectations for behavior—adult at home and child at school—are
often troubling to students who want to be acknowledged and respected for the adult
responsibilities they have. Mekos reported findings from her longitudinal study which
addresses the impact of parents’ transitions from welfare to work on adolescents’ school
achievement and engagement, as students move from junior high to high school. The
study combines annual surveys of 215 urban, low-income parents and their middle-
school child followed over four years, with multiple in-depth interviews and participant
observations, at home and school, of a subsample of eighth graders during a single
school year. Several key findings from this study of students attending an urban, public
middle school are relevant to teacher preparation and middle school teaching. Two
relevant findings are presented below:
• Despite differences in the social class backgrounds of teachers and students, effective
teachers are able to strike a delicate balance between exercising authority in the
classroom and engaging and interacting with students as peers.
• Classroom management practices that are individually tailored to students’ needs and
backgrounds are most effective.

Cognitive Development: Promoting Competence and Motivation for Learning

Although we now understand somewhat better how cognition and behavior are
related to brain function, reported Waber, the significance of these variations is always
context-dependent. The fact that a behavior has a biological or genetic basis does not
mean that the behavior is fixed and determined. Cognition and behavior are always a
function of complex interactions with experience, and the nature of that interaction may
vary with the environment. It has been suggested in the literature that an enriched
environment with abundant opportunities for learning results in structural adaptations
that potentiate the brain for learning. According to Waber, the development of brain
functions is always a continual process of differentiation and integration. The adult
model, which is “modular,” that is, where functions (e.g., reading, language, visuospatial
abilities) are distinct and segregated from one another, does not fit the child model.
Genes, for example, may code for relatively modest predispositions that are played out
in the course of development, and these then become integrated into the developmental
process. Over the course of development, the brain establishes networks that must be
integrated to work efficiently; these networks can become “entrenched” with repeated
experience, leading
to the typical adult model. Children who experience school difficulties show relatively
similar cognitive profiles, but the level of difficulty is context-dependent. Efficiency of
processing is a relatively consistent finding across all students who encounter difficulty,
although the specific content areas in which greatest difficulty occurs can vary.
Children who have academic difficulties often have difficulties in a variety of domains,
even though it is the academic difficulties (e.g., reading) that bring them to clinical
attention and can entitle them to services. Neuropsychological studies have
documented the association between particular domains (e.g., reading and motor timing
control), and neuroimaging studies have further documented differences in these non-
linguistic functions in children who are poor readers. Children with problems acquiring
specific skills are likely to experience other legitimate problems that interfere with their
academic and social effectiveness; thus, it is important to focus on the child, not just on
the skill. The achievement gap between minority and non-minority (including Asian)
children from urban schools can be accounted for, to a great extent, by neurocognitive
and neurobehavioral factors; yet neurodevelopmental factors rarely figure into the
discussion about this gap.

2. Present different models and designs of pedagogies of learning and

teaching, that are supportive of learners at each development level.

MODELS AND DESIGNS OF PEDAGOGIES OF LEARNING AND TEACHING

 3. Illustrate how teaching can be differentiated for diverse learners.

Some planning guidelines for working with students who have special
needs follow:
1. Gather information about the nature of the exceptional student’s
difference and how that difference might affect the learning process.
2. Seek assistance from district special education or resource experts.
3. Use specialized equipment (typewriters, computers, DVD player, print
enlarger, Braille material, etc.) to allow students to function at an
optimum level.
4. Individualize the curriculum by adapting materials and teaching
strategies to better meet the needs of the exceptional students.
5. Remove physical and psychological barriers that limit exceptional
students’ ability to succeed in your classroom.
8 Differentiated Instruction Techniques to Reach Diverse Learners
 Key Vocabulary
 Prior Knowledge Links
 Paired and Cooperative Learning
 Nonlinguistic Representations
 Realia and Hands-on Learning
 Curricular and Personal Connections
 Oral, Reading, and Writing Skills
 Higher Order Thinking
4. Describe the developmental characteristics of learners. Present diff models and
designs of pedagogies of learning and teaching for each developmental level.

DEVELOPMENTAL CHARACTERISTICS OF LEARNERS

PREP AND YEAR 1 DEVELOPMENTAL CHARACTERISTICS OF LEARNERS

Spiritual developmental characteristics of learners:

- Imitate the religious gestures and behaviors of others without comprehending

any meaning or significance to the activities
- Parental attitudes towards moral codes and religious beliefs convey to children
what they consider to be good and bad.
- Assimilate some of the values and beliefs of their parents.
- Follow parental beliefs as part of their daily lives.

Moral developmental characteristics of learners:

Level 1: Preconventional Level –Self Focused Morality (up to age 9):
- Stage 1: individual obeys rules in order to avoid punishment
- Stage 2: individual conforms to society’s rules in order to receive rewards

3.6 Years Old

- Protects self and stands up for his/her rights
- Is concerned with what behavior works to bring about reward or punishment
 - Still needs outside controls as his/her conscience relatively unformed.

4.7 Years Old

- In moral-ethical realm, the child is not able to show principles underlying best
behavior
- Rules of a game not developed, only uses simple do’s and don’ts imposed by
authority

Physical developmental characteristics of learners:

- Enjoy long periods of free play
- Developing eye-hand coordination
- Enjoy small group cooperative games
- May require rest after high energy play
- Improved body coordination; yet still can fall easily

Social Emotional developmental characteristics of learners:

- Eager to receive adult praise
- Enjoy dramatic play
- Eager to engage in new activities/adventures lead by involved adult
- Eager to identify with older children
- Enjoy exploring new materials and equipment
- Can be easily frightened by novel or strange events
- Prefer play in small groups
- Like responsibilities they can handle
- Learning to cooperate with others, but may at times display selfish behaviour

Cognitive developmental characteristics of learners:

- Understand language better than they speak
- Are interested in present; vague concepts of past/future
- Eager to learn, ask many questions, define things by their use
- Developing a sense of humour
- Communicate best within a small group of peers
- May need assistance of adult when starting a new task

YEAR 2 & YEAR 3 DEVELOPMENTAL CHARACTERISTICS OF LEARNERS

Spiritual developmental characteristics of learners:
- Spiritual development parallels cognitive development and is closely related to
children’s experience and social interaction.
- Most have a strong interest in religion during the school age years.
 - The existence of duty is accepted and petitions to an almighty being are
important and expected to be answered.
- Good behavior is rewarded, and bad behavior is punished.
- Developing a conscience for thoughts and matters
Moral developmental characteristics of learners:
- Level 1: Preconventional Level –Self Focused Morality (up to age 9)
- Stage 1: individual obeys rules in order to avoid punishment
- Stage 2: individual conforms to society’s rules in order to receive rewards
4-7 Years Old
- In moral-ethical realm, the child is not able to show principles underlying best
behaviour
- Rules of a game not developed, only uses simple do’s and don’ts imposed by
authority
Physical developmental characteristics of learners:
- Enthusiastic about games
- Experiencing improvement in both gross motor and fine motor skills
- Possess a high activity level
- Practice to master variations of movement for physical activities.
- Enjoy games that allow for comparison of skills.
- Enjoy games that allow for self-improvement

Social Emotional developmental characteristics of learners.

- Have a strong drive toward independence
- Develop a strong sense of loyalty to friend.
- Need to belong to a group.
- Play with and are friends with same-sex peers
- Like to take on responsibilities
- Live in a world of games, rituals and humour inhabited only be children
- Like to have a best friend
- Have a rigid sense of right and wrong
- Need help accepting peers who are different or left out of a group

Cognitive developmental characteristics of learners:

- Like to talk; use language to express feelings/tell stories
- Developing a sense of time
- Enjoy collecting thing
- Enjoy problem solving games like treasure hunts
- Can plan and carry out projects with adult support
- Becoming more self-directed in activities
- Better able to understand and appreciate difference of opinion
 YEAR 4 – YEAR 6 DEVELOPMENTAL CHARACTERISTICS OF LEARNERS
Spiritual developmental characteristics of learners:
- Spiritual development parallels cognitive development and is closely related to
children’s experience and social interaction.
- Most have a strong interest in religion during the school age years.
- The existence of duty is accepted and petitions to an almighty being are
important and expected to be answered.
- Good behavior is rewarded, and bad behavior is punished
- Developing a conscience for thoughts and matter.
- Are able to articulate their faith; may even question its validity.
Moral developmental characteristics of learners:
Conventional Level –Other Focused Morality (9 years - adolescence)
Stage 3:
- Individual behaves morally in order to gain approval from other people
- Children begin to understand what is expected of them by their parents, teacher,
etc.
- Morality is seen as achieving these expectations.

Stage 4:
- Conformity to authority to avoid censure and guilt
- Fulfilling obligations as well as following expectations are seen as moral law for
children at this stage

Physical developmental characteristics of learners:

- Maybe careless about their clothes, room and body cleanliness.
- Girls may have sudden growth spurt and beginning sign of puberty.
- Enjoy physical activities that master specific skills.
- Enjoy competitive games.
- Possess a high activity level.
- Enjoy games that allow for comparison of skills
- Enjoy games that allow for self-improvement

Social Emotional developmental characteristics of learners:

- Enjoy small, peer dominated group discussions.
- Like to join organized groups.
- Are anxious to grow up.
- Are intensely loyal to their peer group.
 - Form a close one-on-one friendship.
- Have a growing desire to assert individuality and independence
- Can be daring and competitive.
- Can be critical of peers and adults.
- Are self-conscious of their abilities

Cognitive developmental characteristics of learners:

- Ask many questions and want thoughtful answers
- Can often understand other points of view.
- Developing strong interests, hobbies and collection.
- Engage in daydreaming.
- Enjoy problem solving games and puzzles etc.
- Enjoy rule-based game.
- Are beginning to develop view about social/global issues.
- Beginning to enjoy humor by telling jokes and understanding sarcasm
5. Present different models and designs of pedagogies of learning and teaching
responsive to diverse linguistic, cultural, socio economic and religious
backgrounds.

Models and Designs of Pedagogies of Teaching and Learning Responsive

to Diverse Linguistic
 8

Models and Designs of Pedagogies of Teaching and Learning Responsive

to Cultural

Models and Designs of Pedagogies of Teaching and Learning Responsive

to Cultural

Models and Designs of Pedagogies of Teaching and Learning Responsive

to Socio Economic
Models and Designs of Pedagogies of Teaching and Learning Responsive to
Religious Backgrounds